The case was announced by Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Ho Ka Kit during a regular press conference yesterday.

The taxi driver is a 30-year-old man surnamed Ng, according to Ho.

Ho said that the Coloane Prison reported to the Public Security Police that a man repeatedly beeped his horn outside the prison gate then stormed into the reception area saying that he wanted to enter the prison.

According to Ho, when a prison guard asked Ng for his identity document, Ng “talked nonsense”, was emotional and caused a scene. When Ng attempted to barge through the prison gate, he was stopped and handcuffed by the guards, who then reported the case to the police.

Ho said that when the police spoke to Ng, he was talking incoherently and was in such a confused state of mind that he was not able to explain clearly what caused the outburst. The police took him to the public Conde de Sao Januário Hospital Centre where he passed drug and alcohol tests, and a mental evaluation showed he was normal.

Ho said that the police then contacted a woman who claimed to be Ng’s girlfriend who was in the car with Ng when he drove to the prison.

According to Ho, she told the police that the two of them went out at 8 p.m. on Tuesday to relax. She fell asleep in the car, and when she woke up, she found herself outside the prison, and Ng in the reception area of the prison.

Ho said she claimed that Ng had been unable to sleep for many days due to financial problems, and often “talked gibberish”.

Ho added that after further investigation, police discovered that just before he drove to the prison, Ng had smashed the rear window of a taxi parked in Seac Pai Van with a metal torch. The driver of the damaged taxi told police that they did not have any problems between them.

Ng has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) and faces charges of damage of a vehicle, possession of a prohibited weapon, and forcing his way into a restricted area.

The undated handout photos released by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday show the smashed rear window of a taxi and a torch allegedly used by the financially-trapped suspect as a weapon.